United Airlines Moving Towards a Future of Animal Waste-Powered Aviation

In an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions produced by burning jet fuel in commercial aircraft, United Airlines has announced an initiative to fly planes using fuel derived from farm animal poop and fats.

A short flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco will be the first animal waste-powered aviation test, and if all goes well, the same flight will continue four to fives times a day for 2 weeks.

The planes will feature 30 percent biofuel from an animal-based propellent produced by California-based AltAir Fuels.

United recently announced a $30 million investment in Fulcrum BioEnergy, one of the largest makers of aviation biofuels.

Not only does this investment represent the biggest ever investment in alternative fuels by a major commercial airline, it shows United is serious about eventually integrating biofuels into its entire fleet.